The invention relates to a cleaning tool for a floor cleaning appliance, comprising a main body carrying a cleaning cover which is subject to wear, and comprising a signal transmitter which provides a wireless signal in dependence upon the degree of wear of the cleaning cover.
Floor cleaning appliances, for example, sweeping machines, scrubbing machines or floor polishing machines, comprise a cleaning tool with a main body carrying a cleaning cover. The cleaning cover may, for example, be configured in the form of a bristle cover, a polishing disk or a cleaning pad and is subject to increasing wear during use of the cleaning tool. When a maximum admissible degree of wear is reached, the cleaning tool should be replaced as, otherwise, there is a risk of the floor surface to be cleaned being damaged and, in addition, of the achievable cleaning result being inadequate. The wear of the cleaning cover is often visually monitored by the user. However, in many cases, this involves difficulties as the cleaning tool is often installed in a housing of the floor cleaning appliance and, therefore, cannot be readily seen by the user from the outside.
To detect the degree of wear of a disk brush, it is proposed in WO 97/08984 A1 that the disk brush be mounted on a vertically displaceable linkage, the position of which can be detected by a potentiometer. With increasing wear of the disk brush, it becomes displaced further and further downwards in the direction towards the floor surface to be cleaned. This displacement is detected by the potentiometer and forms a measure of the degree of wear of the disk brush. If the disk brush is replaced, it is necessary to calibrate the position of the new disk brush in order to thereby ensure that the signal of the potentiometer corresponds to the actual degree of wear of the new disk brush.
In DE 10 2009 018 121 A1 it is proposed that a wear value be stored in a memory element of the cleaning tool, the wear value corresponding to the degree of wear of the cleaning tool at the time the wear value is stored, and that this wear value be repeatedly updated.
In DE 10 2007 050 351 A1, it is proposed that the degree of wear of the cleaning cover be detected by means of a sensor element which is arranged together with a transponder on a flexible foil printed circuit. The foil printed circuit protrudes together with the sensor element located thereon from the main body of the cleaning tool and, like the cleaning cover, wears away during use of the cleaning tool. When a maximum degree of wear is reached, the sensor element is destroyed, and, as a result, the wireless signal provided by the transponder, which can be detected by an associated reader, changes.
The provision of a flexible foil printed circuit having arranged thereon a sensor element which is destroyed when a maximum degree of wear of the cleaning cover is reached, makes it possible to detect when the maximum degree of wear of the cleaning cover is reached. However, the arrangement of the sensor element and the transponder on the foil printed circuit involves not inconsiderable costs.
The object of the present invention is to further develop a cleaning tool of the generic kind in such a way that wear of the cleaning cover can be detected in a cost-effective manner.